The Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Center suffered heavy losses due to burglary of internal work, and it was time-consuming and labor-intensive to repair. Photo/Felix Desmarais LDR

A subcontractor used internal knowledge to expand the facade of the Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Center building at night to steal scrap metal, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars.

The details of Robert Walker's crime were announced in the High Court's appeal ruling this month.

The Rotorua Lake District Council has confirmed to the Rotorua Daily Mail that Walker's crime-he cut several cables-caused damages estimated at $300,000. Damages are covered by insurance, but the City Council must pay more than $25,000 in fees and an additional security fee of $5,000 per month.

Walker appealed the 18-month imprisonment sentence on charges of burglary and intentional damage, but was unsuccessful, saying that the judge should put him in family detention.

The appeal decision detailed the "significant consequences" and "significant economic" burdens caused by Walker after he climbed onto the scaffolding and entered the construction site on November 27 last year.

Walker is working at the center, which is closed during repairs due to damage caused by the earthquake.

He climbed over the fence around the construction site, climbed onto the scaffolding in front of the building, and entered the building.

That brought him to a window and he entered the building. He cut off various cables and used a ladder to climb into a large pipe unit. He used it to enter a room with the building's air-conditioning equipment.

Once in that room, Walker caused considerable damage by cutting the cables and removing the door from the switchboard.

Walker denied the burglary charges, but was convicted after a separate trial by a judge at the Rotorua District Court in July this year.

His crime was discovered after the police found fingerprints in the electric box of the air-conditioned room. Judge Glenn Marshall who heard the trial believed that there was no credible explanation for the existence of the fingerprints, so they must have been left during the burglary.

The High Court’s ruling stated that the specific amount of damage cannot be quantified, but due to the need to repair the damage, it takes a long time to complete the remedial work.

The general contractor must also adopt higher security measures on site.

Alister Burns, the attorney representing Walker, said in the appeal debate that since Walker is a low-risk recidivist and the risk of harming others is also very low, he should consider detention at home. He also complied with the electronic surveillance bail conditions, which means that he is likely to comply with the sentencing conditions for home detention.

In his decision, Judge Long stated that he would not approve home detention because he needed to send a deterrent message to "unscrupulously" destroy the center's equipment and operations instead of making a lot of money for scrap metal.

“As the judge pointed out, Mr. Walker’s crime involved several aggravating circumstances. This was obviously premeditated and caused considerable damage and economic loss. It also involved factors that violated trust,” Judge Long said in his decision. Said in.

City Council Organization Support Deputy Chief Executive Thomas Colle stated that $300,000 is the estimated value of the loss, because as the repair work is completed, the actual value is being gradually claimed through insurance.

He said that the estimated timetable was not delayed because repairing the damage can be done in conjunction with other work.

"However, the staff spend a lot of time, such as dealing with police and insurance matters and planning maintenance work."

The additional funds required to cover the costs are included in the budget increase announced in July.

The previous budget for the project was US$22.5 million, but now it is US$33.7 million. The City Council’s contribution to this has almost doubled from US$11.5 million to US$22.6 million.

The original budget for 2017 was $17.9 million. The opening date has also been moved to June next year.